The invention relates to a pallet guard and more particularly to an adjustable, modular pallet guard which can be easily installed and assembled.
Palletized goods are commonly displayed for sale to customers of a business establishment. Displaying goods for sale in this manner is a convenience for business establishment owners or operators as a large quantity of merchandise can easily be transported out of a stock area utilizing a pallet jack or fork lift and placed with discretion around a store without further handling or arranging of the merchandise. While this type of product merchandising is a convenience to store operators, it sometimes creates an unpleasant visual effect and poses dangers to its customers.
Pallets are customarily designed to receive two parallel spaced arms of a pallet jack or fork lift. These arms slip under a pallet having merchandise stacked or placed thereon. The average pallet design is about 5-6 inches from the floor surface on which the pallet rests so that the pallet can receive the arms of the jack. Pallets are often made of wood, although plastic pallets are also available. When merchandise is stored on a pallet, where the pallet is utilized as a platform to display merchandise, initially, only the sides (usually 5-6 inches high) of the pallet may be visible to customers. However, these pallets are generally dirty, often have splintered and sharp edges, and may protrude out under the merchandise causing a danger for customers to trip and fall. As customers remove merchandise from the pallet for purchase, the outer perimeter of the merchandise, starting from the top, is removed first as this merchandise is closer to the customer and more within the customer""s reach. Remaining, unsold merchandise is left in the middle of the pallet leaving more of the outer edges of the pallet protruding into the walk path of a customer creating more of a hazard to trip and fall. Customers traversing a store frequently have a shopping cart or some other carrying means for transporting a desired item from its storage place to a check-out counter. Merchandise which is stored on a pallet can be easily damaged by these shopping carts coming in contact with the merchandise or the pallets can injure customers or damage other merchandise or carts. Further, the pallets and/or merchandise can be damaged by these shopping carts.
Although pallets themselves have a standard size, it is convenient for the size of a pallet guard to be adjustable. This is because merchandise stored on a pallet frequently extends beyond the footprint defined by the pallet. If a pallet guard is designed to merely encompass the pallet only, it will be difficult to install the pallet guard if the merchandise spills over the pallet. Further it will not be possible to install the pallet guard to non-standard pallets. Further, the pallet guard could not also protect merchandise that extends beyond the pallet. Additionally, it may be desirable to protect a plurality of pallets which are disposed adjacent to one another or even disposed in an array. For example, similar or identical or even different goods may be placed on multiple adjacent pallets and so it would be logical and aesthetically pleasing to provide a single guard for a plurality of pallets holding these goods.
Prior art devices, like that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,488, merely provide a temporary barrier for goods stored on a pallet when the pallet is being shipped from one location to another. This barrier is fixed in size and so cannot protect multiple pallets nor can it protect an irregularly shaped pallet or a pallet which has merchandise extending over the footprint of the pallet.
Thus, there exists a need in the art for a pallet guard. Such a pallet guard should be modular to provide protection for multiple pallets and adjustable to provide protection for an irregular shaped pallet or pallet with merchandise extending beyond the pallet""s footprint.
A first aspect of the invention is a pallet guard including a plurality of pallet guard sections. Each pallet guard section comprises an insertion member; and a receiving member coupled to the insertion member. One of the insertion member and the receiving member provides a plurality of adjustable positions for the insertion member with respect to the receiving member so that a respective insertion member of a first pallet guard section and a respective receiving member of a second pallet guard section are engageable in a plurality of positions thereby defining a plurality of areas for the pallet guard.
In a distinctive feature of the first aspect, one of the insertion member and the receiving member is a wall portion and the other of the insertion member and the receiving member is a connecting piece.
In another distinctive feature of the first aspect, the connecting piece comprises a first corner portion and a second corner portion hingedly coupled to the first corner portion. The first and second corner portions are moveable among a plurality of positions with respect to one another including a substantially straight position where the first and second corner portions are substantially in line with respect to one another, and a position in which the two portions are disposed at an angle to one another.
Another aspect of the invention is a method of assembling a pallet guard. The method comprising the acts of coupling together a plurality of pallet guard sections and adjusting the size of the pallet guard.
Yet another aspect of the invention is a pallet guard including a plurality of pallet guard sections. Each pallet guard section comprises a wall portion and a connecting piece, the connecting piece including a first corner portion coupled to a second corner portion. The first and second corner portions are movable among a plurality of positions with respect to one another including a straight position where the first and second corner portions are substantially straight with respect to each other, and a position in which the two portions are disposed at an angle to one another.
Still yet another aspect of the invention is a modular pallet guard comprising a plurality of pallet guard sections coupled together wherein a first quantity of the pallet guard sections coupled together protects a single pallet and a second quantity of the pallet guard sections coupled together protects multiple pallets.
Another aspect of the invention is a combination of a pallet and pallet guard. The combination comprises a pallet guard extending around and protecting the pallet.
Yet another aspect of the invention is a pallet guard comprising a plurality of modular wall sections, the plurality of wall sections being coupleable together by connecting members, the wall sections having a height sufficient to guard at least edge portions of a pallet, the wall sections being coupleable together by the connecting members so that one pallet or a plurality of adjacent pallets can be protected by the pallet guard. Preferably, the pallet guard is adjustable so that if merchandise extends beyond the pallet, the pallet guard is adjustable to account for such a situation.
The above aspects, and other aspects of the invention, will become apparent upon review of the following disclosure and corresponding drawings.